He absent mindedly swiveled the amber liquid in his glass and continued to stare off into the far into the horizon of his quarters at the Black Order. How many years has it been since he picked up that idiot disciple of his? He still remembers how fragile and broken he was when he first picked him up, that look of frozen horror etched deep into his soul. And now the plan that they all had worked so hard to achieve is almost at hand, "that guy" will be back. He should be happy, but why does his guts feel like someone has twisted them into tight, tight knots. He took another gulp of his scotch hoping it will burn away the bitter bile that has risen from the depths of his stomach. "You're getting soft in your old age, Cross, you're not supposed to care" he mumbled to himself. "Tsk, little brat made me take care of him like a little baby while he was stuck in that catatonic state, if anyone found out that he Cross personally washed piss stained sheets, tsk" he scowled. How the hell did "that guy" come back as a wide eyed little brat? Mana dealt with it quite well; in fact he looked overjoyed during their short time together. He on the other hand had no experience with small children whatsoever, he was a confirmed bachelor, and he can easily charm a whole room of pretty women, little children? Blah!
He thought the kid was going to die at first, he thought the cuts to his face were going to be infected and kill Allen. But after the wound started to heal, he had to help the brat heal the deeper cut in his heart. He kept the brat clean and even cooked soups for him like some housewife, but the brat would not come out of his shell. Finally, he took the old lady's advice and coaxed the brat to forgive himself for turning Mana Walker into an akuma. He had never been more frustrated until he met this kid, there were days he wanted to just bash his head against the door and end it all. How the hell did he end up in this situation, he can get any lovely woman into bed, but he couldn't get a snot nose little brat to eat.
The idiot did keep his promise to Mana Walker to keep walking forward, and he was quite good at adapting to whatever crap life threw his way. He tried to be as nonchalant as possible when it came to the brat, made him pay all of his debts from his drinking and whoring. But the brat kept working and even cheated to pay off his debts, he would bitch incessantly about it afterwards, but he never tried to leave his side. He adapted Mana Walker's mannerisms into his own, if he hadn't spied and saw what a potty mouth street urchin he used to be, he would never think that the polite young man is the same kid. And the bile crawled back into his mouth, because he knows "that guy" is lurking behind those silver grey eyes, waiting to completely erase the existence of one Allen Walker. "Hate me, Allen, hate me with all your heart" and the scotch glass in his hand finally shattered leaving a big, bloody gash. He smirked and sighed, "serves you right, you cold hearted asshole".
And then there was a knock at his door, he smirked and thought to himself, well now, they are moving faster than I thought, and he fingered Judgment before leaving his place by the window sill.
And that was the last time anyone saw General Cross Marian at the Black Order.